The present invention relates to recycling of scrap film, and more particularly relates to an improved apparatus and process for recycling scrap film.
It is desirable to recycle used plastic products, including consumer goods such as grocery bags, laundry bags, plastic food wrap, and industrial materials such as stretch wrap, agricultural film, and composite substances, in order to reduce quantities of waste disposal and reduce the need for production of new plastic. In a conventional plastic recycling process, strips of plastic scrap are fed to a dry cutter or size reduction device, and are subsequently transferred to a separate wet wash device. Customarily, the cutter is of the granulator type, and particulate contaminants are removed only later, i.e. during the washing step, using hydraclones or sink-float tanks. The use of a cutter in a conventional apparatus for processing plastic scrap material can be problematic, as the cutter is very sensitive to contaminants such as dirt and metals. This makes cutting of thin film particularly troublesome. Furthermore, hydraclones and sink-float tanks generally do not remove sufficient amounts of paper fiber from the scrap film during the washing step.